Observatory closure? Australia's only comet-hunting telescope has just detected its 100th comet.

The discovery makes the Uppsala telescope at Siding Springs in outback New South Wales the third most successful ground-based comet discovery observatory in history.

But with funding cuts on the horizon, celebrations may be shortlived.

Designated C/2013-J2, the new visitor is a long period comet, meaning its orbit will take at least 200 years to complete.

The discovery joins a list of famous comets detected by the telescope such as McNaught, Garradd, Christensen, Siding Spring, and Lemmon, which graced our skies in March.

While the new comet places the Uppsala telescope behind the Linear and Catalina telescopes in the US, which have discovered 215 and 104 comets respectively, it is the only telescope surveying southern hemisphere skies for near-Earth objects.

But, after surviving the bushfires which ravaged Coonabarabran in January, the Siding Spring Survey which uses the telescope, now faces closure.

The survey systematically searches the southern hemisphere skies for comets, asteroids and meteors which pose a threat to Earth, says the facility's astronomer Dr Robert McNaught.

"The focus is near-Earth objects which is any object regardless of whether it's a comet or asteroid which can pass close to the Earth," says McNaught.

"Essentially we're trying to inventory the solar system to find all moving objects that could be a threat to the Earth. If they happen to be comets it doesn't make any difference in terms of impact threat."

Finding funding

The telescope is provided by the Australian National University (ANU), but not its annual $110,000 operating costs which have been provided by NASA through the University of Arizona.

"We're getting NASA funds up until the end of July," says McNaught.

"But beyond July there's no funding available so it's questionable whether the program will continue."

McNaught says he has approached the Federal Government as well as a local mining company to keep the project alive.

"I've got a long list of departments not willing to fund it," he says.

Astronomer Dr Brad Tucker from the Mount Stromlo Observatory says the Australian National University has been actively trying to encourage NASA to keep funding the survey.

"Unfortunately with the current funding situation in the US ... one of the programs that has been cut has been Rob's survey," he says.

"Towards the end of mid 2012, NASA decided to cut off the funding and ANU has found money to keep him going, but we're even running out of that money now."

Gone forever

If funding for the survey can't be found by the end of July, Tucker says the survey equipment will be packed up and shipped back to Arizona.

"If that happens...it's not going to come back here.

"And one of the most successful comet and near Earth object discoverers in human history will have to find another job."

To date, McNaught has discovered 81 comets -- including the new discovery -- and at least 467 asteroids.

Without his work, the southern hemisphere will be blind to near Earth objects, says Tucker.

"If something like the meteor which hit over northern Russia in February happens, we won't see this coming," he says.

A meteor estimated to be 17 meters wide, airburst over the Siberian city of Chelyabinsk on 15 February 2013, generating shock waves which smashed windows and damaged buildings, injuring over 1,500 people.

"If something like the one in Russia happens over Sydney, people won't be too happy," says Tucker.

Science and Research Minister Senator Don Farrell's office was unable to comment at the time of publishing.